Context sensitive object management

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to the generation and delivery of content including unique and shared components. A content delivery network service provider can obtain requests for content from client computing devices. Based on information provided in the request or otherwise managed by executable code on the client computing device, the CDN service provider obtains one or more pieces of content that may be shared by more than one user or client computing devices. Additionally, the CDN service provider obtains one or more pieces of content that will not be shared by more than one user or more than one client computing device. Responsive to the content request, the CDN service provider can combine the one or more pieces of shared content and the one or more pieces of unique content and deliver the combined content to the requested client computing device.

BACKGROUND

Generally described, computing devices and communication networks can be utilized to exchange information. In a common application, a computing device can request content from another computing device via the communication network. For example, a user at a personal computing device can utilize a software browser application to request a Web page from a server computing device via the Internet. In such embodiments, the user computing device can be referred to as a client computing device and the server computing device can be referred to as a content provider.

Content providers are generally motivated to provide requested content to client computing devices often with consideration of efficient transmission of the requested content to the client computing device and/or consideration of a cost associated with the transmission of the content. For larger scale implementations, a content provider may receive content requests from a high volume of client computing devices which can place a strain on the content provider's computing resources. Additionally, the content requested by the client computing devices may have a number of components, which can further place additional strain on the content provider's computing resources.

Some content providers attempt to facilitate the delivery of requested content, such as Web pages or resources identified in Web pages, through the utilization of a content delivery network (“CDN”) service provider. A CDN server provider typically maintains a number of computing devices in a communication network that can maintain content from various content providers. In turn, content providers can instruct, or otherwise suggest to, client computing devices to request some, or all, of the content provider's content from the CDN service provider's computing devices.

As with content providers, CDN providers are also generally motivated to provide requested content to client computing devices often with consideration of efficient transmission of the requested content to the client computing device and/or consideration of a cost associated with the transmission of the content. Accordingly, CDN service providers often consider factors such as latency of delivery of requested content in order to meet service level agreements or to generally improve the quality of delivery service. Additionally, in embodiments in which the requested content includes personalized content, such as images, annotations, etc., CDN service providers may have limited capabilities to cache the personalized content.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING FIGURES

The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrative of content delivery environment including a number of client computing devices, content provider, a content delivery network service provider, and a network computing and storage provider;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the content delivery environment of FIG. 1 illustrating the registration of a content provider with a content delivery service provider;

FIG. 3A is a block diagram of the content delivery environment of FIG. 1 illustrating the generation and processing of a content request from a client computing device to a content provider;

FIG. 3B is a block diagram of the content delivery environment of FIG. 1 illustrating one embodiment of the generation and processing of a DNS query corresponding to an embedded resource from a client computing device to a content delivery network service provider;

FIGS. 4A-4C are block diagrams of the content delivery environment of FIG. 1 illustrating the generation and processing of embedded resource requests from a client computing device to a content delivery network service provider; and

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a screen display illustrating various display objects associated with context criteria;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrative of a request routing routine implemented by a content delivery network service provider for processing resource requests; and

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrative of a context criteria processing routine implemented by a content delivery network service provider for processing context change information.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Generally described, the present disclosure is directed to the delivery of content to client devices. More specifically, aspects of the present disclosure relate to the management and delivery of content to client devices. In accordance with an illustrative embodiment, a content delivery network (“CDN”) service provider can obtain requests for content from client computing devices. Based on information provided in the request, the CDN service provider obtains one or more resources that are provided to the requesting client computing device. Examples can include images, videos, audio tracks, documents (e.g., text, markup language, executable code), and the like.

Illustratively, some portion of the requested resources can correspond to content that is unique to a user associated with the client computing device or the client computing device, such as recommendations, purchase histories, customized information from profiles, recent activities, and the like. Traditionally, unique content that may be dynamic in nature (e.g., purchase history information or objects) is not maintained in a resource cache or associated with relatively short expiration data to avoid issues that the data may become incorrect or incomplete. Illustratively, expiration criteria will generally refer to a maximum amount of time in which the cached information can be considered to be valid in a resource cache component and is often referred to as a time to live or TTL.

In one embodiment, the requested resources are associated with relatively longer expiration criteria as well as additional criteria that can be evaluated during the time in which the resources are maintained in a resource cache component to determine whether the cached information can continue to be utilized prior to satisfaction of the expiration criteria (e.g., expiration of a time period in which the resource is considered valid). Such additional criteria will be generally referred to as context criteria. By way of an example, one or more objects associated with purchase history may be associated with context criteria that include information indicative of a last purchase associated with the user account, such as a time stamp. The one or more objects can be maintained in a resource cache component and associated with relatively long expiration data. If the expiration criteria have not been satisfied, the one or more objects can be utilized to satisfy resource requests dependent on a further revaluation of the context criteria.

In the illustrative example, the one or more cached objects can be maintained and used in the resource cache component so long an indication of a purchase (e.g., a timestamp of a purchase) matches or otherwise does not exceed the context criteria. Alternatively, if the resource cache component receives an indication that a purchase has been made or indication of a purchase request submitted by a client computing device, it can be assume that the object(s) related to purchase history may no longer be accurate because a purchase has been made. Accordingly, processing of the context criteria allows the cached objects to be designated as having become incorrect or incomplete. The information utilized to evaluate the context change criteria will be generally referred to as context change information. Although various aspects of the disclosure will be described with regard to illustrative examples and embodiments, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the disclosed embodiments and examples should not be construed as limiting.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrative of content delivery environment 100 for the management and processing of content requests. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the content delivery environment 100 includes a number of client computing devices 102 (generally referred to as clients) for requesting content from a content provider and/or a CDN service provider. In an illustrative embodiment, the client computing devices 102 can corresponds to a wide variety of computing devices including personal computing devices, laptop computing devices, hand-held computing devices, terminal computing devices, mobile devices, wireless devices, various electronic devices and appliances and the like. In an illustrative embodiment, the client computing devices 102 include necessary hardware and software components for establishing communications over a communication network 108, such as a wide area network or local area network. For example, the client computing devices 102 may be equipped with networking equipment and browser software applications that facilitate communications via the Internet or an intranet.

Although not illustrated in FIG. 1, each client computing device 102 utilizes some type of local DNS resolver component, such as a DNS Name server, that generates the DNS queries attributed to the client computing device. In one embodiment, the local DNS resolver component may be provide by an enterprise network to which the client computing device 102 belongs. In another embodiment, the local DNS resolver component may be provided by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that provides the communication network connection to the client computing device 102.

The content delivery environment 100 can also include a content provider 104 in communication with the one or more client computing devices 102 via the communication network 108. The content provider 104 illustrated in FIG. 1 corresponds to a logical association of one or more computing devices associated with a content provider. Specifically, the content provider 104 can include a web server component 110 corresponding to one or more server computing devices for obtaining and processing requests for content (such as Web pages) from the client computing devices 102. The content provider 104 can further include an origin server component 112 and associated storage component 114 corresponding to one or more computing devices for obtaining and processing requests for network resources from the CDN service provider. The content provider 104 can still further include an application server computing device 111, such as a data streaming server, for processing streaming content requests. One skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the content provider 104 can be associated with various additional computing resources, such additional computing devices for administration of content and resources, DNS name servers, and the like. For example, although not illustrated in FIG. 1, the content provider 104 can be associated with one or more DNS name server components that would be authoritative to resolve client computing device DNS queries corresponding to a domain of the content provider.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, the content delivery environment 100 can further include a CDN service provider 106 in communication with the one or more client computing devices 102 and the content provider 104 via the communication network 108. The CDN service provider 106 illustrated in FIG. 1 corresponds to a logical association of one or more computing devices associated with a CDN service provider. Specifically, the CDN service provider 106 can include a number of Point of Presence (“POP”) locations 116, 122, 128 that correspond to nodes on the communication network 108. Each CDN POP 116, 122, 128 includes a DNS component 118, 124, 130 made up of a number of DNS server computing devices for resolving DNS queries from the client computers 102. Each CDN POP 116, 122, 128 also includes a resource cache component 120, 126, 132 made up of a number of cache server computing devices for storing resources from content providers and transmitting various requested resources to various client computers. The DNS components 118, 124 and 130 and the resource cache components 120, 126, 132 may further include additional software and/or hardware components that facilitate communications including, but not limited to, load balancing or load sharing software/hardware components.

In an illustrative embodiment, the DNS component 118, 124, 130 and resource cache component 120, 126, 132 are considered to be logically grouped, regardless of whether the components, or portions of the components, are physically separate. Additionally, although the CDN POPs 116, 122, 128 are illustrated in FIG. 1 as logically associated with the CDN Provider 106, the CDN POPs will be geographically distributed throughout the communication network 108 in a manner to best serve various demographics of client computing devices 102. Additionally, one skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the CDN service provider 106 can be associated with various additional computing resources, such additional computing devices for administration of content and resources, and the like.

With further continued reference to FIG. 1, the content delivery environment 100 can also include a network computing and storage provider 107 in communication with the one or more client computing devices 102, the CDN service provider 106, and the content provider 104 via the communication network 108. The network computing and storage provider 107 illustrated in FIG. 1 also corresponds to a logical association of one or more computing devices associated with a network computing and storage provider. Specifically, the network computing and storage provider 107 can include a number of Point of Presence (“POP”) locations 134, 142, 148 that correspond to nodes on the communication network 108. Each POP 134, 142, 148 includes a network computing component (NCC) 136, 144, 150 for hosting applications, such as data streaming applications, via a number of instances of a virtual machine, generally referred to as an instance of an NCC. One skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that NCC 136, 144, 150 would include physical computing device resources and software to provide the multiple instances of a virtual machine or to dynamically cause the creation of instances of a virtual machine. Such creation can be based on a specific request, such as from a client computing device, or the NCC can initiate dynamic creation of an instance of a virtual machine on its own. Each NCC POP 134, 142, 148 also includes a storage component 140, 146, 152 made up of a number of storage devices for storing resources from content providers which will be processed by an instance of an NCC 136, 144, 150 and transmitted to various client computers. The NCCs 136, 144, 150 and the storage components 140, 146, 152 may further include additional software and/or hardware components that facilitate communications including, but not limited to, load balancing or load sharing software/hardware components for selecting instances of a virtual machine supporting a requested application and/or providing information to a DNS nameserver to facilitate request routing.

In an illustrative embodiment, NCCs 136, 144, 150 and the storage components 140, 146, 152 are considered to be logically grouped, regardless of whether the components, or portions of the components, are physically separate. Additionally, although the NCC POPs 134, 142, 148 are illustrated in FIG. 1 as logically associated with the network computing and storage provider 107, the NCC POPs will be geographically distributed throughout the communication network 108 in a manner to best serve various demographics of client computing devices 102. Additionally, one skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the network computing and storage provider 107 can be associated with various additional computing resources, such additional computing devices for administration of content and resources, and the like. Further, the network computing and storage provider 107 may be associated with only computing resources or only storage resources, as appropriate. Even further, one skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the components of the network computing and storage provider 107 and components of the CDN service provider 106 can be managed by the same or different entities.

With reference now to FIGS. 2-4, the interaction between various components of the content delivery environment 100 of FIG. 1 will be illustrated. For purposes of the example, however, the illustration has been simplified such that many of the components utilized to facilitate communications are not shown. One skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that such components can be utilized and that additional interactions would accordingly occur without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

With reference to FIG. 2, an illustrative interaction for registration of a content provider 104 with the CDN service provider 106 will be described. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the CDN content registration process begins with registration of the content provider 104 with the CDN service provider 106. In an illustrative embodiment, the content provider 104 utilizes a registration application program interface (“API”) to register with the CDN service provider 106 such that the CDN service provider 106 can provide content on behalf of the content provider 104. The registration API includes the identification of the origin server 112 of the content provider 104 that will provide requested resources to the CDN service provider 106.

One skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that upon identification of appropriate origin servers 112, the content provider 104 can begin to direct requests for content from client computing devices 102 to the CDN service provider 106. Specifically, in accordance with DNS routing principles, a client computing device request corresponding to a resource identifier would eventually be directed toward a CDN POP 116, 122, 128 associated with the CDN service provider 106. In the event that the resource cache component 120, 126, 132 of a selected CDN POP, or the storage component 140, 146, 152 of a subsequently selected instance of an NCC 136, 144, 150 as will be described further below, does not have a copy of a resource requested by a client computing device 102, the resource cache component 120, 126, 132, or the storage component 140, 146, 152, will request the resource from the origin server 112 previously registered by the content provider 104.

With continued reference to FIG. 2, upon receiving the registration API, the CDN service provider 106 obtains and processes the registration information. In an illustrative embodiment, the CDN service provider 106 can then generate additional information that will be used by the client computing devices 102 as part of the content requests. The additional information can include, without limitation, client identifiers, such as client identification codes, content provider identifiers, such as content provider identification codes, executable code for processing resource identifiers, such as script-based instructions, the like. In another embodiment, in addition or alternatively, the additional information can include file type identifiers and/or application identifiers which can include file type information, as well as information pertaining to a type of application for processing the requested content or a specific instance of an application desired for processing the requested content. Application identifiers may also include or be associated with other additional information or requirements for selecting an instance of an application for processing the requested content, such as quality of service criteria which can include information as to compression rates, processing power, processing speed, and/or bandwidth of the NCC, and the like. One skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that various types of additional information may be generated by the CDN service provider 106 and that the additional information may be embodied in any one of a variety of formats.

The CDN service provider 106 returns an identification of applicable domains for the CDN service provider (unless it has been previously provided) and any additional information to the content provider 104. In turn, the content provider 104 can then process the stored content with content provider specific information. In one example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the content provider 104 translates resource identifiers originally directed toward a domain of the origin server 112 to a domain corresponding to the CDN service provider. The translated URLs are embedded into requested content in a manner such that DNS queries for the translated URLs will resolve to a DNS server corresponding to the CDN service provider 106 and not a DNS server corresponding to the content provider 104. Although the translation process is illustrated in FIG. 2, in some embodiments, the translation process may be omitted in a manner described in greater detail below.

Generally, the identification of the resources originally directed to the content provider 104 will be in the form of a resource identifier that can be processed by the client computing device 102, such as through a browser software application. In an illustrative embodiment, the resource identifiers can be in the form of a uniform resource locator (“URL”). Because the resource identifiers are included in the requested content directed to the content provider, the resource identifiers can be referred to generally as the “content provider URL.” For purposes of an illustrative example, the content provider URL can identify a domain of the content provider 104 (e.g., contentprovider.com), generally referred to as a DNS portion of the URL, a name of the resource to be requested (e.g., a video file entitled “resource.mp4”) and a path where the resource will be found (e.g., “path”), the path and resource generally referred to as a path portion of the URL. In this illustrative example, the content provider URL has the form of:

-   -   http://www.contentprovider.com/path/resource.mp4

During an illustrative translation process, the content provider URL is modified such that requests for the resources associated with the translated URLs resolve to a CDN POP associated with the CDN service provider 106. In one embodiment, the translated URL identifies the domain of the CDN service provider 106 (e.g., “cdnprovider.com”), the same name of the resource to be requested (e.g., “resource.mp4”) and a path or combination processing information associated with the requested resource (e.g., “path or combination processing information”). In some embodiments, the translated URL can include additional processing information (e.g., “additional information”) in the DNS portion of the URL. The “additional information” portion of the URL can be utilized by the CDN service provider 106 to resolve DNS queries based on information associated with the resource requested. For example, the DNS query may be resolved to a specific POP based on the location of dynamic portion of the requested resource.

Illustratively, the translated URL would have the form of:

-   -   http://additional_information.cdnprovider.com/path/resource.mp4

In another embodiment, the information associated with the CDN service provider 106 is included in a modified URL, such as through prepending or other techniques, such that the translated URL can maintain all of the information associated with the original URL. In this embodiment, the translated URL would have the form of:

-   -   http://additional_information.cdnprovider.com/www.contentprovider.com/path/resource.mp4

With reference now to FIG. 3A, after completion of the registration and translation processes illustrated in FIG. 2, in one embodiment, a client computing device 102 subsequently generates a content request that is received and processed by the content provider 104, such as through the Web server 110. In accordance with an illustrative embodiment, the request for content can be in accordance with common network protocols, such as the hypertext transfer protocol (“HTTP”). Upon receipt of the content request, the content provider 104 identifies the appropriate responsive content. In an illustrative embodiment, the requested content can correspond to a Web page that is displayed on the client computing device 102 via the processing of information, such as hypertext markup language (“HTML”), extensible markup language (“XML”), and the like. The requested content can also include a number of embedded resource identifiers, described above, that corresponds to resource objects that should be obtained by the client computing device 102 as part of the processing of the requested content. The embedded resource identifiers can be generally referred to as original resource identifiers or original URLs.

In one embodiment, upon receipt of the requested content, the client computing device 102, such as through a browser software application, begins processing any of the markup code included in the content and attempts to acquire the resources identified by the embedded resource identifiers. In another embodiment, such as for video or streaming applications, the browser software application may not initiate the request for additional resources until receiving some type of specific request or action from a user associated with the client computing device 102.

In either embodiment, a first process in acquiring the content corresponds to the issuance, by the client computing device 102 (through its local DNS resolver), of a DNS query for the original URL resource identifier that results in the identification of a DNS server authoritative to the “.” and the “com” portions of the translated URL. After resolving the “.” and “com” portions of the embedded URL, the client computing device 102 then issues a DNS query for the resource URL that results in the identification of a DNS server authoritative to the “.cdnprovider” portion of the embedded URL. The issuance of DNS queries corresponding to the “.” and the “com” portions of a URL are well known and have not been illustrated.

With reference now to FIG. 3B, in an illustrative embodiment, the successful resolution of the “cdnprovider” portion of the resource URL identifies a network address, such as an IP address, of a DNS server associated with the CDN service provider 106. The resolution of a DNS query corresponding to the “cdnprovider” portion of the resource URL can be based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the location of the requesting computing device, network topology information, service level agreements, CDN service provider availability information, network availability information and the like. Additionally, in some embodiments, the “additional information” portion of the translated URL can include one or more identifiers that reference the requested resource. One skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the resolution of a DNS query associated with a URL does not include the processing of information associated with the requested resource. By including identification information in the “additional information” portion of the translated URL, the CDN service provider 106 can consider additional information in the resolution of DNS queries, including the identity of the requested resource, the identification of shared content portions of a requested resource, the identification of unique content portions of a requested resource and the like. Still further, the CDN service provider 106 may utilize one or more Canonical Name (“CNAME”) records in which information regarding the requested resource is included in the CNAMEs returned to the requesting client computing device 102.

Illustratively, the resolution of a DNS query will event result in the identification of an IP address of a component associated with the URL. In one embodiment, the IP address can be a specific network address unique to a DNS server component of a POP. In another embodiment, the IP address can be shared by one or more CDN POPs. In this embodiment, a further DNS query to the shared IP address utilizes a one-to-many network routing schema, such as anycast, such that a specific POP will receive the request as a function of network topology. For example, in an anycast implementation, a DNS query issued by a client computing device 102 to a shared IP address will arrive at a DNS server component logically having the shortest network topology distance, often referred to as network hops, from the client computing device. The network topology distance does not necessarily correspond to geographic distance. However, in some embodiments, the network topology distance can be inferred to be the shortest network distance between a client computing device 102 and a POP. It will be appreciated by one skilled in the relevant art that a number of ways exist to determine network topology distance.

With continued reference to FIG. 3B, in either of the above identified embodiments (or any other embodiment), a specific DNS server in the DNS component 118 of a CDN POP 116 receives the DNS query corresponding to the original URL from the client computing device 102. Once one of the DNS servers in the DNS component 118 receives the request, the specific DNS server attempts to resolve the request. In one illustrative embodiment as shown in FIG. 3B, a specific DNS server resolves the DNS query by identifying an IP address of a cache server component or an instance of an NCC that will process the request for the requested resource. As described above and as will be described further below in reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B, a selected resource cache component or a storage component associated with an instance of an NCC can process the request by either providing the requested resource if it is available or attempting to obtain the requested resource from another source, such as a peer cache server computing device or the origin server 112 of the content provider 104.

With further reference to FIG. 3B, the specific DNS server can utilize a variety of information in selecting a resource cache component or an instance of an NCC. In one illustrative embodiment, the DNS server can use the additional information in the DNS portion of the resource identifier (which is used to resolve the DNS query by the DNS server) to return an IP address of a resource cache component or an instance of an NCC. As generally described above, the additional information can include, without limitation, client identifiers, such as client identification codes, content provider identifiers, such as content provider identification codes, executable code for processing resource identifiers, such as script-based instructions, and the like. In addition or alternatively, the additional information can include file type identifiers and/or application identifiers which can include file type information, as well as information pertaining to a type of hosted application for processing the requested content or a specific instance of a hosted application desired for processing the requested content.

In some embodiment, the DNS server can also use information obtained directly from a client computing device (such as information provided by the client computing device or ISP) or indirectly (such as inferred through a client computing device's IP address) to select a resource cache component or an instance of an NCC. Such client computing device information can, for example, be geographic information. Still further, the DNS server components can utilize network performance metrics or measurements to assign specific resource cache components or instances of an NCC. The IP address selected by a DNS server component may correspond to a specific caching server in the resource cache or a specific instance of an NCC device. Alternatively, the IP address can correspond to a hardware/software selection component (such as a load balancer) at a specific CDN.

In further reference to FIG. 3B, once an IP address is identified, the DNS server 118 provides the IP address of the resource cache component or the instance of an NCC to the client computing device 102 for further processing, as will be discussed further below in reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B.

With reference now to FIGS. 4A and 4B, in an illustrative example, assume that the DNS server component 130 has selected the resource cache component 120 of POP 116. Upon receipt of the IP address for the resource cache component 120, the client computing device 102 transmits a request for the content to the resource cache component 120, such as in accordance with the HTTP protocol

As illustrated in FIG. 4A, the resource request is processed at the receiving POP 116. In one aspect, the POP 116 processes the request for the requested resource. In one aspect, the POP 116 can utilize a local resource cache component 120 to provide at least a portion of the requested resources. Illustratively, however, in one embodiment, the POP 116 will not be able to provide a requested resource from the resource cache component 120 and must obtain the resource from an origin source, such as a network storage provider 107 or a content provider 104. As illustrated in FIG. 4A, the origin source may be NCC POP A 134. Illustratively, the POP 116 may select from a single designated origin source or select from two or more available origin sources.

With reference to FIG. 4B, NCC POP A 134 obtains and processes the resource request. Illustratively, the NCC POP can associate expiration criteria with the requested resource, such as a TTL. Additionally, the NCC POP or other component of the network storage service provider 107 can associate at least some aspect of context criteria that will be utilized to manage the requested object in resource cache components. For example, if the requested resources correspond to recommendation object types, the NCC POP 134 can include timestamp information corresponding to a time in which recommendation object was last generated or updated. Alternatively, the timestamp information may correspond to a time in which the recommendations were generated or updated. In some embodiments, the timestamp information may be different. In other embodiments, the NCC may not associate any context criteria as part of processing the resource request.

Generally, resources can be associated with context information that can be used to manage how the requested resource is maintained in a resource cache component. In one embodiment, the context information can be in the form of information, such as a cookie, that includes an identification portion, a type portion, and a value portion. The identification portion includes an identifier that corresponds to the object, such as a user or client computing device (e.g., “customer_identiifer”). The type portion includes information identifying a classification of the resource, such as in predetermined categories, dynamic categories, location, and the like (e.g., “item type”). By way of illustrative example, the item-type information can relate to different characterizations or functions of user information. For example, for dynamic user information, the resource classification types can include recommendation object types, purchase history object types, recently accessed object types, selected object types, and the like. The context_value portion includes information that corresponds to a value utilized to evaluate context criteria. For example, the context_value can correspond to timestamp information relate to a time of the most current version of the information. In another example, the context_value portion can correspond to maximum or minimum thresholds related to the number of times the object is requested or provided. The, the context_value portion can also include Boolean values, versioning information, logical operation or definitions, and the like. Illustratively, the context information has the form of:

-   -   customer_identifier+item-type+context_value

Illustratively, the context information may be encrypted or otherwise processed for transmission or storage. Additionally, the context information may be embodied other than in a cookie or may be combined with other information.

The POP 116 receives the requested resources from the NCC POP. The POP 116 then processes the requested resource. In one aspect, the POP 116 can associate expiration criteria by incorporating expiration criteria provided from the origin source, modifying expiration criteria provided by the origin source or generating expiration criteria independent of the origin source. In another aspect, the POP 116 can associate context criteria by incorporating context criteria found or referenced in the context information and provided from the origin source, modifying context criteria found or referenced in context information provided by the origin source or generating context information independent of the origin source. Additionally, the POP 116 can determine or set up one or more processing rules that will be utilized to evaluate received or generated context information. For example, if the context_value corresponds to a threshold that cannot be exceeded, the POP 116 would set up processing rules to determine the included threshold had been exceeded. One skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the processing of the context information can include a number of additional processing steps and can receive and incorporate additional information.

With continued reference to FIG. 4B, the requested resource(s) are transmitted to the requesting client computing device 102 for processing and rendering. An illustrative screen displaying indicative of different types of display objects will be described with regard to FIG. 5.

Turning now to FIG. 4C, POP 116 can maintain the objects in the resource cache component 120 based a determination that the expiration criteria has not been satisfied (e.g., the specified TTL has not yet expired) and based on a determination that the context criteria is not indicative that the cached content may become incorrect incomplete, or is otherwise considered invalid. By way of illustrative example, the determination of an incorrect or incomplete cached resource may be considered different from satisfaction of expiration criteria (e.g., an expired resource) or an explicit invalidation notification (e.g., an invalid resource). During the maintenance of objects in the resource cache component, the CDN service provider 106 can continuously or periodically obtain context change information.

As illustrated in FIG. 4C, the context change information can be obtained from the client computing device 102, the content provider 104 or the network storage provider 107. Context change information can also be obtained from other sources. Illustratively, the context change information can include any data that will be utilized in conjunction with the context value information maintained by the POP 116. In one aspect, the context change information can be utilized to compare values with the context value. For example, the context change information can include an updated value for an object that can be evaluated against a threshold or to determine a match. In another aspect, the context change information can include information that is processed to derive a context value. For example, the context change information can correspond to a purchase request or purchase notification that can be utilized to generate timestamp information related to purchase history context data. Illustratively, the context change information may be transmitted in accordance with an establish API or as part of another communication. Still further, the context change information may be transmitted based on a request by the CDN service provider 106 or based on a notification event determined by the transmitting component.

Based on receipt of the context change information, the POP 116 processes the information and determines whether the objects maintained in the resource cache component 120 can still be maintained in the resource cache component and provided responsive to a request. If the evaluation of the context change information indicates that the object should not be provided for subject requests, the resource cache component 120 can designate and process the cached object as no longer valid. For example, the POP 116 can delete the cached object, designate the object for overwriting or modifying a designation as “invalid” or “expired.” In another example, the POP 116 can treat a request for the resource as a cache miss and request the object from the origin source or another source. If the evaluation of the context criteria does not result in a determination that the object cannot be provided (e.g., the object is considered valid), the POP 116 can update the context criteria. For example, the POP 116 can update cumulative counts, thresholds, values, and the like. The process can continue until the context change or the expiration criteria are satisfied (e.g., an expired object).

The above described processing of context change information in FIG. 4B has been illustrated as responsive to receipt of context change information. Accordingly, in this embodiment, a POP would manage cached object in a dynamic manner. In other embodiments, one or more POPs may batch or group context change information for processing at a designated time or upon occurrence of an event. In still other embodiments, one or more POPs may obtain and store context change information and only process the context change information responsive to a subsequent request for the cached object.

Turning now to FIG. 5, a screen display 500 illustrating various aspects for rendering objects on a client computing device 102. The screen display 500 includes a first portion 502 that corresponds to the three objects 504, 506, 508 related to recent items accessed by a user (e.g., “items you viewed). In accordance with the present disclosure, each of the objects 504, 506, 508 would be associated with context information indicating the user identifier and a type identifier corresponding to the recent items viewed by the user. Additionally, the context information would also include context value information corresponding to a time when the recent items viewed were valid.

The screen display 500 can also include various dynamically generated objects 510 or static objects 512, 514, 516 and 518 that may not necessarily be associated with context information. In such an embodiment, these objects may only be associated with expiration criteria and cached accordingly.

With continued reference to FIG. 5, the screen display includes two additional portions 520 and 534 that relate to purchase history and recommendations, respectively. Each portion 520, 534 includes a number of display objects 522, 524, 526, 528, 530, 532, 536, 538, and 540 that would be associated with context information. Specifically, objects 522, 524, 526, 528, 530, 532 would be associated with context information indicating the user identifier and a type identifier corresponding to the recent items purchased by the user. Additionally, the context information would also include context value information corresponding to a time when the purchase data was valid. Likewise, objects 536, 538, 540 would be associated with context information indicating the user identifier and a type identifier corresponding to the recent items recommended to the user. Additionally, the context information would also include context value information corresponding to a time when the recommendation was valid.

Turning to FIG. 6, a routine 600 for resource request processing will be described. Illustratively, routine 600 may be implemented by one or more components associated with a POP, such as POPS 116, 122, 128. For purposes of illustrating routine 600, however, the routine will be described as implemented by the CDN service provider 106. Such reference should not be construed as limiting. One skilled in the relevant art will appreciate, that additional or alternative components may also implement a portion of the routine 600.

At block 602, the CDN service provider 106 obtains the request for the requested resource from a client computing device 102. As previously described, the POP 116 can utilize a local resource cache component 120 to provide at least a portion of the requested resources. Accordingly, at decision block 604, a test is conducted to determine whether a local copy of the requested resource is available. Illustratively, a local copy of the requested resource will be available if processing expiration criteria and context criteria for the object are indicative that the object is incorrect, invalid or otherwise should not be provided.

If a local copy is not available, at block 606, the CDN service provider 106 obtains the resource from an origin source, such as a network storage provider 107 or a content provider 104. Illustratively, the POP 116 may select from a single designated origin source or select from two or more available origin sources. At block 608, the CDN service provider 106 determines resource context criteria. In one aspect, the POP 116 can associate context criteria by incorporating context information provided from the origin source, modifying context information provided by the origin source or generating context information independent of the origin source. Additionally, the POP 116 can determine or set up one or more rules that will be utilized to evaluate the context information. For example, if the context_value corresponds to a threshold that cannot be exceeded, the POP 116 would set up processing rules to determine the included threshold had been exceeded. One skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the processing of the context information can include a number of additional processing steps and can receive and incorporate additional information. At block 610, the CDN service provider 106 stores the requested resource in the resource cache component along with expiration criteria and context criteria.

If a local copy is available or once a copy is obtained, at decision block 612, a test is conducted to determine whether the context criteria should be updated. For example, the POP 116 can initialize or update cumulative counts, thresholds, values, and the like. If so, at block 614, the CDN service provider 106 processes the content criteria. For example, the POP 116 can initialize a Boolean flag based on the first request for the resource. At block 616, the CDN service provider 106 transmits the requested resource. At block 618, the routine 600 terminates.

Turning to FIG. 7, a routine 700 for processing context change information for cached resource objects will be described. Illustratively, routine 700 may be implemented by one or more components associated with a POP, such as POPS 116, 122, 128. For purposes of illustrating routine 700, however, the routine will be described as implemented by the CDN service provider 106. Such reference should not be construed as limiting. One skilled in the relevant art will appreciate, that additional or alternative components may also implement a portion of the routine 700.

At block 702, the CDN service provider 106 obtains context change information. As illustrated in FIG. 4C, the context change information can be obtained from the client computing device 102, the content provider 104 or the network storage provider 107. Context change information can also be obtained or derived from other sources or a combination of sources. Illustratively, the context change information can include any data that will be utilized in conjunction with the context value information maintained by the CDN service provider 106. In one aspect, the context change information can be utilized to compare values with the context value. For example, the context change information can include an updated value for an object that can be evaluated against a threshold or to determine a match. In another aspect, the context change information can include information that is processed to generate a context value. For example, the context change information can correspond to a purchase request or purchase notification that can be utilized to generate timestamp information related to purchase history context data. Illustratively, the context change information may be transmitted in accordance with an establish API or as part of another communication. Still further, the context change information may be transmitted based on a request by the CDN service provider 106 or based on a notification event determined by the transmitting component.

At decision block 704, the CDN service provider 106 processes the information and determines whether the objects maintained in the resource cache component 120 can still be maintained in the resource cache component and provided responsive to a request. Illustratively, decision block 704 may be implemented directly upon receipt of the context change information. Alternatively, decision block 704 may be implemented in response to a subsequent request for the resource from a client computing device 102 or other criteria. If the evaluation of the context change information indicates that the object should not be provided for object requests, the resource cache component 120 can designate and process the cached object as no longer valid at block 710. For example, the POP 116 can delete the cached object, designate the objects for overwriting or modifying a designation as “invalid” or “expired.” In some embodiments, the POP 116 can return error messages or attempt to obtain the requested resource from other sources, such as peer computing devices, network storage, origin sources, and the like. If the evaluation of the context change information indicates that the object can be provided for object requests, at decision block 706, a test is conducted to determine whether the context criteria should be updated. For example, the POP 116 can update cumulative counts, thresholds, values, and the like. If so, at block 708, the CDN service provider 106 processes the content criteria. At block 712, the routine 700 terminates.

While illustrative embodiments have been disclosed and discussed, one skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that additional or alternative embodiments may be implemented within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Additionally, although many embodiments have been indicated as illustrative, one skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the illustrative embodiments do not need to be combined or implemented together. As such, some illustrative embodiments do not need to be utilized or implemented in accordance with scope of variations to the present disclosure.

Conditional language, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” or “may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.

Any process descriptions, elements, or blocks in the flow diagrams described herein and/or depicted in the attached figures should be understood as potentially representing modules, segments, or portions of code which include one or more executable instructions for implementing specific logical functions or steps in the process. Alternate implementations are included within the scope of the embodiments described herein in which elements or functions may be deleted, executed out of order from that shown or discussed, including substantially concurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionality involved, as would be understood by those skilled in the art. It will further be appreciated that the data and/or components described above may be stored on a computer-readable medium and loaded into memory of the computing device using a drive mechanism associated with a computer readable storing the computer executable components such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or network interface further, the component and/or data can be included in a single device or distributed in any manner. Accordingly, general purpose computing devices may be configured to implement the processes, algorithms and methodology of the present disclosure with the processing and/or execution of the various data and/or components described above.

It should be emphasized that many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments, the elements of which are to be understood as being among other acceptable examples. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: obtaining, at content delivery network (CDN) service provider, a request, from a client computing device, for a resource included in a Web page, the resource unique to a user of the client computing device, wherein the resource is associated with expiration criterion and context criteria for the resource, wherein the expiration criterion corresponds to a time to live, wherein the context criteria specifies a user identifier corresponding to the resource, a resource type, and a context value, wherein the resource type includes a dynamic classification of the resource, wherein the resource corresponds to a dynamic resource associated with an account corresponding to the user identifier, and wherein the context value includes timing information for the resource, wherein the timing information associated with the resource is different from the expiration criterion, wherein the timing information associated with the resource includes a threshold related to a number of times the resource is requested or provided, wherein the CDN service provider processes requests for resources on behalf of an original content provider, wherein the request is a domain name system (DNS) query including identification of the resource in a DNS portion of a uniform resource locator (URL) corresponding to the DNS query; causing storage, from the original content provider, of the resource in a resource cache component of the CDN service provider with the context criteria; obtaining context change information, the context change information including information for determining an updated number of times the resource is requested or provided; determining the resource stored in the resource cache component is invalid by comparing the threshold included in the context criteria with the updated number of times the resource is requested or provided; and causing the resource to no longer be maintained in the resource cache component based on the determination that the resource in the resource cache component is invalid, wherein the expiration criterion associated with the resource has not been satisfied.
 2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the context criteria correspond to a cookie.
 3. A method comprising: obtaining, at content delivery network (CDN) service provider, a request, from a client computing device, for a resource included in a Web page, the resource unique to a user of the client computing device, wherein the resource is associated with expiration criterion and context criteria, wherein the CDN service provider processes requests for resources on behalf of an original content provider, and wherein the request is a domain name system (DNS) query including identification of the resource in a DNS portion of a uniform resource locator (URL) corresponding to the DNS query; causing storage, from the original content provider, of the resource in a resource cache component of the CDN service provider with the context criteria; obtaining context change information, the context change information including information for determining an updated number of times the resource is requested or provided; determining the resource stored in the resource cache component is invalid by comparing the context criteria with the context change information; and prior to satisfaction of the expiration criterion, causing the resource to no longer be maintained in the resource cache component based on determination that the resource stored in the resource cache component is invalid, wherein the expiration criterion corresponds to a maximum amount of time in which the resource is considered to be valid in the resource cache component, wherein the context criteria includes a user identifier corresponding to the resource, a resource type, and a context value, wherein the resource type includes a dynamic classification of the resource, and wherein the context value includes timing information for the resource and can be utilized to determine whether the resource can be maintained in the resource cache component, wherein the timing information associated with the resource is different from the expiration criterion, wherein the timing information associated with the resource includes a threshold related to a number of times the resource is requested or provided, and wherein the resource corresponds to a dynamic resource associated with an account corresponding to the user identifier.
 4. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein determining the resource in the resource cache component is invalid includes processing the context change information responsive to obtaining the context change information.
 5. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein determining the resource in the resource cache component is invalid includes processing the context change information responsive to obtaining a subsequent request for the resource.
 6. The method as recited in claim 3, further comprising updating the context criteria.
 7. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein the resource includes one of an image, a document, video file, or audio file.
 8. The method as recited in claim 3 further comprising updating the context criteria with the context change information.
 9. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein the resource type includes information relating to different characterizations or functions of information of the user.
 10. A system comprising: memory for storing computer-readable instructions; and one or more processors of a content delivery network (CDN) service provider that processes resources on behalf of an original content provider, the one or more processors, executing the computer-readable instructions, that cause one or more computing devices associated with the one or more processors to: obtain a request, from a client computing device, for a resource included in a Web page, the resource unique to a user of the client computing device, wherein the resource is associated with expiration criterion and context criteria, and wherein the request is a domain name system (DNS) query including identification of the resource in a DNS portion of a uniform resource locator (URL) corresponding to the DNS query; cause storage, from the original content provider, of the resource in a resource cache component of the CDN service provider with the context criteria; obtain context change information, the context change information corresponding to information associated with a most recent object value for the resource; determine the resource stored in the resource cache component is invalid by comparing the context criteria with the context change information; and prior to satisfaction of the expiration criterion, cause the resource to no longer be maintained in the resource cache component based on the determination that the resource stored in the resource cache component is invalid, wherein the expiration criterion corresponds to a maximum amount of time in which the resource is considered to be valid in the resource cache component, wherein the context criteria includes a user identifier corresponding to the resource, a resource type, and a context value, wherein the resource type includes a dynamic classification of the resource, and wherein the context value includes timing information for the resource and can be utilized to determine whether the resource can be maintained in a resource cache component, wherein the timing information associated with the resource is different from the expiration criterion, wherein the timing information associated with the resource includes a threshold related to a number of times the resource is requested or provided, and wherein the resource corresponds to a dynamic resource associated with an account corresponding to the user identifier.
 11. The system as recited in claim 10, wherein the one or more processors process the context criteria.
 12. The system as recited in claim 10, wherein the resource includes one of a document, video file, or audio file.
 13. The system as recited in claim 10, wherein the one or more processors update the context criteria with the context change information.
 14. The system as recited in claim 10, wherein the one or more processors determine the resource in the resource cache component is invalid based upon receipt of the context change information.
 15. The system as recited in claim 10, wherein the one or more processors determine the resource in the resource cache component is invalid based upon receipt of a subsequent request for the resource. 